This year has already brought a handful of surprises from long-running Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rock trio Mos Generator. Like a new lineup. And touring. And live records. And splits. If you don’t believe me, go back a few posts. Today the hyper-active riffers keep the thread going with the announcement that Tony Reed, founder, songwriter and driving force behind the band, will step back from playing guitar on their upcoming East Coast tour in order to fill-in on drums.

He’ll still be singing, but I’m pretty sure this marks a first for Mos Generator, though Reed‘s history drumming goes back farther than that. Reed and still-relatively-newcomer bassist Sean Booth will be joined by new guitarist Scott Riley for the run — which ends giving them just one day’s break before they leave for a European tour with Elder — as the man himself explains:

2015 has been a very hectic and interesting year for Mos Generator. I have had many firsts since January, including playing acoustic shows and doing the longest U.S. tour of my career. Since the split with the original rhythm section in September of 2014 it’s been a rough road keeping a complete rhythm section intact. I’m not surprised, I knew it would be tough but I never thought I would have to end up playing drums and singing for some dates. As I am writing this I am thinking to myself that this is complete insanity, but, as insane as it sounds I am also looking forward to the challenge. So… May 5 through May 13, rather than cancel the tour I will turn my guitar duties over to my old friend Scott Riley and I will mount the kit with one of those horrible Sammy Hagar microphones and do my damnedest. It’s a good thing we’ve got the steady bass playing of Sean Booth to keep it all together. He’ll be the only one that doesn’t look like a deer in headlights. TR

In just under a week’s time, Bordeaux heavy psych rollers Mars Red Sky will make a return trip to South America for shows in Argentina and Brazil. The latter, of course, is where they wound up recording their second album and Listenable Records debut, Stranded in Arcadia (review here), after their original plan to track in the California desert was scrapped by US customs in what I’ve since considered an embarrassing international incident caused by the ignorance of my countrymen to quality fuzz. No doubt somebody went home that day and thought they’d done a good job. Wrong-o, chief.

Those issues are easy enough to put aside because Stranded in Arcadia, which was recorded at Estúdio Superfuzz by Gabriel Zander, turned out so well. The trio of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras, bassist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Matgaz crafted not only a progressive step froward from their 2011 self-titled debut (review here), but a highly individualized blend of sonic weight and psychedelia, the melodies, the riffs and heft all their own. It was a gorgeous record, whatever the circumstances of its making, and even as they’ve recently announced intentions toward a third album, they’re still supporting Stranded in Arcadia both on the road — that stopover in South America will be followed by another European tour — and with a new video, this one for the opening cut “The Light Beyond.”

It’s one of the most singularly gorgeous tracks on Stranded in Arcadia and the video is their most elaborate production to date. They’re known for sort of compiling clips through manipulated footage, maybe blending live shots with old movie clips and things like that, but “The Light Beyond” is a more traditional music video approach, the band staged on a sandbar as a giant manta ray made of shadow flies over head and a mysterious shaman wanders the desert. Fun note: From what I hear, the drone used for filming the band actually crashed in that lake. Hazards of working with robots, I guess.

As always, hope you enjoy:

Mars Red Sky, “The Light Beyond” official video

Taken from 2014’s critically acclaimed ‘Stranded In Arcadia’ album, the gallic power trio rockers stay true to their roots. Shot on location in France and Australia, ‘The Light Beyond’ features downtuned fuzzed up guitars, blues soaked doom laden riffage, wandering shaman, flying manta rays and deserts as far as the eye can see.

The band will be off for a their « Soviet Attack tour » in South America next week, which will be quickly followed by a full European tour, including a special guest slot in London with Eyehategod at Desertscene Festival, among other nice events this summer:

Before Mars Red Sky hit the studio in August to record their third full-length in their native Bordeaux, the trio will embark on tours of South America — shows in Brazil and Argentina — and crisscrossing Europe for festival appearances. Brazil of course is where they wound up tracking their second record, last year’s stellar Stranded in Arcadia (review here), which also served as their debut on Listenable Records, and even as they begin to move past that album to work on the next, they’ll be releasing a new video from Stranded in Arcadia this coming week, for the song “The Light Beyond,” the engrossing eight-minute opener.

Something to look forward to there. Also will be interesting to see whether the new outing will surface later in 2015 or early in 2016. Could go either way recording in August depending on how long the mixing and mastering takes and what else they encounter along the way. Presumably recording in their hometown in a familiar setting with a friend at the helm is at least in part an effort to avoid some of the fraught experience that led to Stranded in Arcadia — the album’s title being a reference to the fact that they were supposed to record in the California desert but were ultimately denied entrance and had to scramble to find a spot in Brazil — though one was hardly inclined to argue with the results of that scramble.

From the PR wire:

MARS RED SKY: Spring and Summer news!

May 12th – New video release “The Light Beyond”The band will unveil their brand new video for “The Light Beyond” (directed by Sébastien Antoine), this May 12th.

May 26th – South American tourOne year after the remarkable release of their second album “Stranded In Arcadia”, French heavy trio MARS RED SKY will be back where it all started, with six shows across Argentina and Brazil.

August 2015 – New album recordingShortly after this sonic odyssey across Europe and the new continent, MARS RED SKY will take a well deserved break to focus on their upcoming full-length, to be recorded in their hometown Bordeaux with their friend and producer Gabriel Zander.

European tour and summer festivalsA full European and UK tour is to start soon, with a few shows in Italy. This summer, the band will hit renowned festivals such as Dour Festival (Belgium), Motocultor Fest (France), Valkholf Fest (Holland) and Depressive Fest in Moscow. Tour list is as follows:

Mars Red Sky & Friends, Live in Bordeaux, Dec. 18, 2014

A rather considerable regret I’ve had this past month is that I didn’t get to pick up a copy of the Mos Generator/Isaak split that Heavy Psych Sounds put out in January when I saw Mos Generator open for Elder in Rhode Island (review here). Looks like I’ll get a second chance in June, when the Port Orchard, Washington, trio return to the East Coast, this time bringing Seattle’s Wounded Giant with them. Not to say I called it that the two bands would be touring together as both were sharing spots on the Eye of the Stoned Goat 5 festival to be held in Long Island on June 13, but I did.

That fest will provide the closing argument on the eight-show run, and the rumor mill has it that Mos Generator have even more touring announcements to come — word has been kicked around of a trip to Europe alongside a certain Massachusetts trio who just released one of the year’s best albums, and with whom, if that doesn’t make it clear enough, Mos already toured in the States — and given guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed‘s work ethic, I can’t imagine that’ll be the end of it. MosGenerator‘s new live album, In Concert 2007-2014, is available now to preorder from Listenable Records at the links below.

Also pay particular note to who they’re playing with each show on this tour, because there’s not one band on the list who isn’t worth showing up to see:

Mos Generator Announce East Coast Tour with Wounded Giant

Port Orchard, Washington heavy rockers MOS GENERATOR fresh off of their six week US tour run have announced they will fire up another string of east coast dates with Seattle Washington’s WOUNDED GIANT. Starting off with eight stops along the East Coast with both bands featured on this Summer’s “Eye of the Stoned Goat 5” Festival in Long Island, New York.

Longtime residents of Kemado Records‘ lineup, Oakland heavy thrashers Saviours have signed to Listenable Records for the release their next album, to be recorded this Spring with none other than Billy “I have the original mixes of Dopesmoker under my desk” Anderson following a quick West Coast tour in March. Saviours mark a decade since the release of their Warship debut EP in 2015, and they’ve been slugging it out the hard way most of that time, heavy touring and a string of four-to-date full-lengths that have kept them in public consciousness as they’ve heralded a new breed of West Coast heavy rock.

It’s been four years since Death’s Procession, their last LP, and I don’t think I’m telling you anything you don’t know when I say the climate for heavy bands has changed in that time and is continuing to change, so I’ll be interested to see what kind of response Saviours gets, and if the band is able to transition to maturity while keeping the brashness that’s served for the last 10 years as the core of their sound.

While I stroke my beard and consider the possibilities fully aware of my own ridiculousness, feel free to dig into this off the PR wire:

SAVIOURS ink deal with Listenable Records!

California’s SAVIOURS continue to forge ahead with towering riffs, colossal rhythm, monumental guitar harmonies and an obsession with the end of times, the occult, psychedelics and arcane. Still building upon the foundations laid by Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Motörhead, SAVIOURS enter their second decade in a new partnership with French label LISTENABLE RECORDS, preparing a new album for a Fall 2015 release.

The band generously comments: “We’re very happy to finally announce our deal with Listenable. They’re true supporters of what we do and have been a pleasure to work with thus far. Since last June we’ve been beating the new songs into submission and now its really starting to take shape and sound killer. There are some doomy crushers and faster ragers in the mix so its sounding like a natural and logical continuation of where we left off with Death’s Procession. In March we’ll play some West Coast shows then begin recording at Type Foundry in Portland with the inimitable Billy Anderson. Can’t wait to get this new record out, its been too fucking long!”

SAVIOURS new album will be recorded this spring for a later 2015 release.

Though it shares a basic cover design and a partial title with it, Mos Generator‘s upcoming Listenable Records live album, In Concert: 2007-2014 — out March 23 — isn’t to be confused with the 2013 In Concert (review here) on Lay Bare Recordings. That outing was one concert, captured on the Port Orchard, Washington, trio’s European tour with Saint Vitus, whereas the new release, as its title hints, is more of a compilation of material culled from years of gigs around the world, as early as Roadburn in 2008 and as recent as Freak Valley last year. Founding guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed explains it in the quote below.

Says Tony Reed:

“This release is compiled from five different shows over seven years and is a great representation of what we have sounded like live. It has at least one song from each of our albums and also showcases jams and the evolution of song arrangements from studio to stage. It was a challenge to mix these recording from different shows together to make it seem like one live experience but i think the result captures the energy and chemistry that was happening between the three of us on stage during these years. A few of our finest moments were captured here including songs from Roadburn Festival in 2008 and Freak Valley Festival in 2014. It’s also cool that this will be coming out just in time for our European tour in April of 2015 to get everybody in the spirit for live MOS GENERATOR.”

What Reed doesn’t mention there is that In Concert: 2007-2014 also serves as the capstone for an ending era of the band. In the wake of 2014’s Electric Mountain Majesty (review here) and with a desire to tour more than they have in years past, Reed has parted ways with drummer Shawn Johnson and bassist Scooter Haslip, bringing on board the rhythm section of bassist Sean Booth and drummer Scotty VanDweller (a touring name if e’er was one). Accordingly, Reed, Booth and VanDweller have Mos Generator‘s first full-US tour booked and set to begin this month, and after that, the plan is to head to Europe and make their presence felt there.

It’s entirely possible that at the end of 2015, one might think of Mos Generator as a completely different band than, say, the one that made such a righteous comeback in 2012 with the Nomads (review here) full-length on Ripple Music, but if anything’s certain at this point it’s that this is a year of change for the stalwart heavy rock specialists, and that the new lineup are meeting that change and the challenges it might bring head on. As a fan of the band and of Reed‘s work in general, I’m looking forward to finally getting the chance to see these songs played live.

If you’re in a similar boat, Listenable has offered up “Beyond the Whip” from In Concert: 2007-2014 for your streaming pleasure. As it was the opening track on Electric Mountain Majesty, presumably this comes from last year’s stop at Freak Valley, and it sounds like a damn good time. Please find it on the player below, followed by the live album tracklisting, the announcement from Reed about the new lineup and the tour and the dates for the US run.

We’ve got a few big announcements coming at ya today. First off we have a nice run of U.S. tour dates coming up and we have posted the dates and a few fun posters to help promote the tour. We would like to thank all of the promoters and bands that have helped us book many of these dates and we would also like to thank Elder and Tone Deaf Touring for bringing us along on what will be the first ever east coast tour for Mos Generator. Plans are in the works for more touring in the U.S. and Europe during the first half of 2015. We would like to make it out to see all of you this year.

The second announcement doesn’t come easy for me. After 14 years, 8 albums and hundreds of shows together I have had to part with the original rhythm section of Shawn Johnson and Scooter Haslip. Touring is imperative to the success and public awareness of any band and we couldn’t do the work that it takes to rise above the countless bands out there putting their passion to the test. We made amazing music together, but that is not enough, not for me anyway. I want to show it to the world. Mos Generator will never be the same in the absence of Shawn and Scooter but challenge and growth are also a musician’s nature and with that I announce Sean Booth (Bass) and Scotty VanDweller (Drums). Sean and Scotty have spent years attending Mos Generator shows and admiring the playing of their respective instrumentalists. That respect and understanding will help us perform the older material with much of the energy and power as it had with the original band and soon we will be writing and taking the sound of Mos Generator to new and interesting levels. That is something I am truly looking forward to.

While I’m consistently bummed Mars Red Sky haven’t made it to the US yet in support of 2014’s righteous Stranded in Arcadia (review here), the release of their new video for “Circles” at least gives me an excuse to revisit the album this afternoon, and for that I’m grateful. The Bordeaux heavy psych rock trio offered one of last year’s most engaging listens with their second full-length, and this week they’ll hit the road in Europe to hand-deliver warm tones and memorable hooks to what I’ve no doubt will be a thankful audience.

The tour is broken up into different sections and really takes hold in March, but there are five dates this week, and that’s not nothing, especially with the new video accompanying. Whatever. Anytime I get to write about Mars Red Sky is a win.

That’s a fact: MARS RED SKY love being on the road, to such an extent that touring has become their second nature. Once again, the French trio is set to drag even more audiences into their oniric stoner rock trip with a full winter tour across France and Europe. On the occasion of this recent addition, the band also released a hypnotizing video for “Circles”.

“Circles” is a song taken off MARS RED SKY’s sophomore album “Stranded In Arcadia” (listen here), released on April 28th through French music label Listenable Records. The video was created and edited by Geoffrey Torres, and features images from Kazumasa Nagai’s and German movie director Oskar Fischinger’s work.

MARS RED SKY’s winter tour is kicking off this week, more Spring dates and festivals will be announced later. As usual, you can contact me for guest list spots and interview requests.

Mars Red Sky, “Circles” official video

Please note: These are not the results of the Readers Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t added your list yet, please do.

This was a hard list to put together. The top three have been set in my mind for probably the last month, but trying to work my way backwards from there was a real challenge — what’s a top 10 record, a top 20 record, a top 30, honorable mentions and all the rest. I’ve never done a full top 30 before, always 20, but the truth is there was just too much this year to not expand.

I’m still juggling numbers even as I put together this post, and I’m sure that by the time I’m done several records will have switched places. That’s always how it seems to go. What I’m confident that I have is a list accurately representing critique and my own habits, both what I gravitated toward in listening throughout the year and what I feel is noteworthy on a critical level. This site has always been a blend of those two impulses. It’s only fair this list should be as well.

Before we dig in, you should note this is full-length albums only. I’ll have a list of short releases (EPs, singles, demos) to come, as well as a special list of debut releases, since it seemed to be a particularly good year for them. And since I’m only one person, I couldn’t hear everything, much as I tried.

Okay. Here we go:

30. Orange Goblin, Back from the Abyss

The kings of London’s heavy scene offered more powerhouse heavy rock with their eighth album and second for Candlelight, and their rabid and ever-growing fanbase ate it up. Back from the Abyss proved yet again that few can attain the kind of vicious force that seems to come so natural to Orange Goblin, and made it clear their domination shows no signs of losing momentum.

29. Mos Generator, Electric Mountain Majesty

A darker affair from Port Orchard, Washington’s Mos Generator, Electric Mountain Majesty still found its core in the songwriting led by guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed. They’re a band with some changes on the horizon, and I’ll be interested to hear what hindsight does to these songs. As it was, the hooks and downer vibes may have been in conceptual conflict, but the execution was inarguable.

28. Pilgrim, II: Void Worship

Richer in the listening than 2012’s Misery Wizard debut, Pilgrim‘s II: Void Worship nonetheless held firm to the doomly spirit that’s made the Rhode Island outfit such a sensation these last couple years. Its longer songs, “Master’s Chamber,” “Void Worship” and the emotionally weighted “Away from Here,” were particularly immersive, and they remain a bright spot in doom’s future.

27. John Garcia, John Garcia

His long-awaited solo debut, John Garcia‘s John Garcia offered memorable tracks culled from years of songwriting from the former Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida and Hermano frontman, performed in the classic desert rock style he helped define. I’m not sure it was worth trading a second Vista Chino record for, but it was hard to argue with “The Blvd” and “All These Walls.”

26. Swans, To be Kind

An overwhelming two-disc barrage from a relentless creativity that, more than 30 years on from its first public incarnation, is still to be considered avant garde. I’m not sure planet earth realizes how lucky it is to have Swans running around unleashing all this chaos, but I hope they don’t stop anytime soon. To be Kind was brutal and beautiful in like measure.

25. Alunah, Awakening the Forest

I initially made this list without Alunah‘s excellent third album and Napalm Records, but when it came down to it, not having the UK four-piece on here haunted me to the point where I had to come back in and swap them out with somebody else. Just couldn’t live with myself for not giving this record its due, which, to be frank, I’m still not since it should be higher on the list than it is. At least it’s here though, so the mistake is somewhat corrected.

24. Greenleaf, Trails and Passes

The follow-up to Greenleaf‘s stellar 2012 outing Nest of Vipers (review here) brought lineup changes and stripped away many of the textural elements of the band’s sound — guest appearances, arrangement flourishes — in order to get back to a classic heavy rock sound and translate better to the stage. With guitarist Tommi Holappa‘s songwriting ever at the core, it would be unfair to call the process anything but a success.

23. Earth, Primitive and Deadly

Most of the headlines went to the fact that Primitive and Deadly had vocals, where the generally-instrumental Earth had avoided singers for 18 years prior, but even putting aside Mark Lanegan and Rabi Shabeen Qazi, whose performance on “From the Zodiacal Light” was the high point of the record, presented Earth‘s always progressive tensions in a rawer, heavier production, and was a joy for longtime fans.

22. Ogre, The Last Neanderthal

Six years and one breakup later, Portland, Maine, doom trio Ogre returned with The Last Neanderthal, neither afraid to revel in Sabbathian traditionalism or rock out a more upbeat cut like opener “Nine Princes in Amber.” For bassist/vocalist Ed Cunningham, guitarist Ross Markonish and drummer Will Broadbent, it was a welcome resurgence of pretense-free heavy riffs and grooves.

21. The Wounded Kings, Consolamentum

Of course, at the time we didn’t know it would be the final outing from this lineup of UK doomers The Wounded Kings, whose guitarist/founder Steve Mills has now reunited with original vocalist George Birch, but Consolamentum was a hell of a closing statement anyway for this era of the band, showcasing their murky, increasingly progressive style still waiting for wider appreciation.

20. Floor, Oblation

Wasn’t sure where to put Floor‘s reunion offering, Oblation, on this list at first, since I kind of fell off listening to it as the year went on, but I’ve gone back to it over the last couple weeks and it has held up to the revisit, whether it’s songs like the extended “Sign of Aeth” or shorter, catchy pummelers like “Rocinante” or “War Party.” Floor‘s 2002 self-titled holds an untouchable legacy in heavy rock, but I think the years will prove Oblation a worthy successor. Nobody knew what they had with Floor at the time either.

19. Druglord, Enter Venus

Little on 2011’s Motherfucker Rising (review here) or their 2010 demo (review here) prepared for the kind of assault that Druglord‘s Enter Venus brought to bear. Four stomp-laden slabs of tectonic crash and distortion, vocals buried under and calling up from the amp-bred fog. The Virginian trio were in and out on the 27-minute 12″ release, but had enough heavy for a record twice as long, and the tinges of darkened psychedelia made their songs like a lurking presence just on the edge of consciousness, a threat waiting to be unleashed.

18. Ararat, Cabalgata Hacia la Luz

For the sheer variety of Ararat‘s third album in rockers like “Nicotina y Destrucción,” “El Hijo de Ignacio,” the experimentalism of “El Arca” and the piano-driven “Los Viajes” and the acoustic closer “Atalayah,” and the assured, flowing manner in which the Argentina trio pulled it all off, Cabalgata Hacia la Luz should be higher on this list than it is. Part of that might be my frustration at my apparent inability to buy a copy, but don’t let that take away from the quality of the material here, which is wonderfully chaotic, memorable and engaging, rushing in some places and stopping to weep in others.

17. Radio Moscow, Magical Dirt

You won’t hear me deny that Radio Moscow‘s primary impact is as a live band, but their fifth album, Magical Dirt, managed to bring forth much of their psychedelic blues presence in “Death of a Queen,” “Before it Burns” and “Gypsy Fast Woman,” the blinding rhythmic turns and wah-soaked guitar supremacy of Parker Griggs front and center throughout. Together with bassist Anthony Meier (also Sacri Monti) and drummer Paul Marrone (also Astra and Psicomagia), Radio Moscow are hitting their stride as one of heavy rock’s most powerful power trios. One never knows what to expect, but hopefully they keep going the way they are.

16. Apostle of Solitude, Of Woe and Wounds

Four years isn’t the longest time I’ve ever waited for a record to come out, but in the case of Indianapolis’ Apostle of Solitude, it felt like an especially long stretch. Their third full-length and first for Cruz del Sur, Of Woe and Wounds followed the anticipation-building Demo 2012 (review here) and a couple splits and brought aboard bassist Dan Dividson and guitarist/vocalist Steve Janiak (also Devil to Pay), who fit well with drummer Corey Webb and guitarist/vocalist Chuck Brown to result in a payoff worthy and indicative of the time that went into its making. Hands down one of the finest acts in American doom.

15. Stubb, Cry of the Ocean

Stubb‘s second long-player, also their debut on Ripple, gets a nod for the sense of progression it brought in answering the potential of the trio’s 2012 self-titled debut (review here), guitarist/vocalist Jack Dickinson, bassist Peter Holland and new drummer Tom Fyfe expanding the scope to include more heavy psych influence and soul along with the fuzz riffs and steady rolling while giving no ground in terms of the level of craft at work. Cry of the Ocean has become one of those albums where all I have to do is look at a title, be it “Cry of the Ocean Pt. I” or “Sail Forever” or “Heartbreaker,” and the song is immediately stuck in my head. With these tracks, that’s not at all a complaint.

14. Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band, Black Power Flower

Brant Bjork has worn many hats, literal and figurative, over the years, whether it’s drummer in Kyuss or Fu Manchu, producer, solo artist or bandleader. With Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band, he steps once again into the latter role, and with guitarist Bubba DuPree, bassist Dave Dinsmore and drummer Tony Tornay, presents not only on his heaviest record to date, but what could easily begin a sustainable full-band progression that can go just about anywhere his songwriting wants to take it. “Stokely up Now,” “That’s a Fact Jack,” “Controllers Denied” and “Boogie Woogie on Your Brain” made for some of 2014’s best in desert rock, and Black Power Flower was an stellar return for Bjork to his “solo” work.

13. Dwellers, Pagan Fruit

An earlier version of this list had Pagan Fruit at a lower number, but I couldn’t live with it not being closer to the top 10. Salt Lake City’s Dwellers pushed deeper into laid back psych and blues on their second album, and in doing so, crafted an atmosphere entirely their own. From “Creature Comfort” down to “Call of the Hollowed Horn,” with triumphs along the way like “Rare Eagle,” “Totem Crawler” (“Ohh, my queen… To whom, I crawl…) and “Son of Raven,” Pagan Fruit became a staple of my 2014, building off their 2012 debut, Good Morning Harakiri (review here), but presenting their stylistic growth with a confidence and poise that can only come from a band who’ve figured out what they want to be doing and how they want to do it. Front to back, Pagan Fruit sounds like an arrival.

12. The Golden Grass, The Golden Grass

What made Brooklyn trio The Golden Grass‘ self-titled debut such a special released wasn’t just that it was heavy, or that the tracks were catchy, or that guitarist Michael Rafalowich and drummer Adam Kriney could harmonize over Joe Noval‘s warm-toned basslines. That was all great, don’t get me wrong, but what really stood out about The Golden Grass was its irony-free positivity, the way it was able to capture an upbeat, sunshiny feel without having to smirk about it on the other side of its mouth. It was self-aware, to be sure — knew what it was doing — but the way I see it, consciousness only makes the stylistic choices more impressive. Add to that the nuance they brought to ’70s revivalism, and all that stuff about catchiness and the harmonies, and there just wasn’t a level on which the album didn’t work.

11. The Well, Samsara

My appreciation continues to grow for The Well‘s Samsara, which successfully pulled together influences from garage doom and heavy psychedelia while crafting an identity for the Austin, Texas, three-piece at once raw and melodically accomplished, guitarist Ian Graham and bassist Lisa Alley sharing vocals to classic effect on “Refuge” while otherwise trading off lead position to bolster variety in the material. The high point might’ve been the eight-minute “Eternal Well,” on which Graham, Alley and drummer Jason Sullivvan conjured some of their grooviest demons, but the hooks of “Mortal Bones,” “Trespass” and the attitude-laced “Dragon Snort” were no less engaging. One of many strong releases from their label this year — Slow Season, The Picturebooks, etc. — they seemed to come ready to serve notice of a stylistic movement underway.

10. Montibus Communitas, The Pilgrim to the Absolute

Peruvian psych adventurers Montibus Communitas more or less blew my mind when I heard their late-2013 offering, Harvest Times earlier this year, and the narrative, conceptual 2014 release, The Pilgrim to the Absolute, is even more of an achievement in its portrayal of improvised exploration, sonic ritualism and open creativity. The weaving of longer pieces against shorter ones with the various steps along the path as presented in the titles, some journeying, some arriving, some descriptive, almost all accompanied by nature in one form or another, gives The Pilgrim to the Absolute an almost impressionistic quality, so that even as you listen to it, you engage it as much as it carries you along its vibrant, breathtaking progression en route to the closing title-track, which is a destination every bit worthy of the journey. This is the most recently reviewed inclusion on this list, but Montibus Communitas‘ latest readily earns its place in the top 10. It is unique in its surroundings.

9. Fu Manchu, Gigantoid

Looking back at the last two Fu Manchu records, 2007’s We Must Obey and 2009’s Signs of Infinite Power, it seemed reasonable to expect the groundbreaking SoCal fuzz foursome to put out another collection of big-sounding riffs in a big-sounding production. Nothing to complain about, but probably not a landmark. By going the other way completely — stripping their buzzed-out riffing down to its punkish core thanks in no small part to recording with Moab‘s Andrew Giacumakis — Fu Manchu served up a raw reminder both of where they came from and how top notch their songwriting remains. Reissuing their earliest work and being on their own label might’ve had something to do with it, but whatever it was, the 35 minutes of Gigantoid was as efficient a heavy rock outing as one could hope from an already legendary band, whether it was the hook-prone opening salvo of “Dimension Shifter,” “Invaders on My Back,” “Anxiety Reducer” and “Radio Source Sagittarius” or the righteous ending jam “The Last Question.”

8. The Skull, For Those Which are Asleep

Given the origins of The Skull — ex-Trouble members Eric Wagner, Jeff “Oly” Olson and Ron Holzner joining with Lothar Keller and a series of other guitarists, finally Matt Goldsborough, working essentially as a tribute band to their former outfit — I think not only did the quality of the material and performance on For Those Which are Asleep surprise, as well as the classically doomed feel that resonates throughout the album, but the sheer heartfelt nature of songs like “Sick of it All,” “Send Judas Down” and the title-track itself. This wasn’t a cynical attempt to make a go of an already set legacy. It was an expression of appreciation both for what they accomplished as Trouble and a desire to continue that work. The Skull‘s whole thing has been that they’re “more Trouble than Trouble,” and in their lineup that’s been true since they brought Olson on board. For Those Which are Asleep demonstrated that the classic spirit of that band is alive and well, its address has just changed. Moreover, it’s the beginning of a new progression for that spirit, and I hope it continues.

7. Blood Farmers, Headless Eyes

Nineteen years after releasing their self-titled debut, New York’s Blood Farmers contended for 2014’s comeback of the year with their sophomore outing, Headless Eyes — a morose, horror-obsessed six-track collection that on “Night of the Sorcerers” owed as much to Goblin as to Sabbath. The closing cover of David Hess‘ theme from The Last House on the Left, “The Road Leads to Nowhere,” was a late bit of melodic flourish to add depth, but how could the highlight be anything other than the 10-minute title-track itself, with its samples from the 1971 horror flick The Headless Eyes, bassist Eli Brown in a call and response with lyrics comprised of lines directly taken from the movie? That after playing shows the last several years, Blood Farmers managed to get a record out was impressive enough. That Headless Eyes turned out to be the year’s best traditional doom release was an entirely different level of surprise. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for their third, but Brown, guitarist David Szulkin and drummer Tad Leger gave plenty to chew on with Blood Farmers‘ second. It was better than would’ve been fair to expect.

6. Lo-Pan, Colossus

A lot of what you need to know about Lo-Pan‘s fourth album you learn in the first five seconds of opener “Regulus.” There’s no fancy intro, no time wasted, nothing to take away from the directness of the song itself. Tones are crisp — the verse is already underway — and guitar, bass and drums are laser-focused in their forward movement. Even when vocalist Jeff Martin enters the song, roughly six seconds later, his arrival comes with no indulgence, no pomp. Colossus is easily Lo-Pan‘s most immediate work to date, and throughout, Martin, guitarist Brian Fristoe (since replaced by Adrian Zambrano), bassist Scott Thompson and drummer Jesse Bartz retain that focus no matter where the material takes them, delivering a clinic in how to kick as much ass as possible at any given moment on cuts like “Marathon Man” and “Eastern Seas,” or even bringing in guest vocalist Jason Alexander Byers, who also designed the album cover, for a spot on “Vox.” They had a hard task in following up 2011’s Salvador (review here), but the Columbus, Ohio, unit stood up to the challenge and met it and everyone else head-on.

5a. All Them Witches, Lightning at the Door

What to do with All Them Witches‘ Lightning at the Door? The Nashville four-piece released the album last fall digitally, but it wasn’t until this September that it saw a physical manifestation. In fact, if you go back, it was included on the Top 20 of 2013 as well. Which is the release date? I don’t know. What I know is that in terms of the sheer amount of time spent listening, I put on Lightning at the Door more than any other record this year. From where I sit, that alone gets it a place in the top five. Yeah, it might be a cop-out to do a “5a,” but sometimes exceptions have to be made, and All Them Witches have proved to be nothing if not exceptional in their still relatively brief, jam-laden history, the psych-blues dynamic between bassist/vocalist Michael Parks, Jr., guitarist Ben McLeod, Fender Rhodes specialist Allan van Cleave and drummer Robby Staebler pushing them quickly to the fore of American heavy rock’s innovators, their natural, improv-sounding material feeling brazen and exploratory while reshaping the elements of genre to suit their needs. One can only see this dynamic developing further as they continue to grow as a live band, so Lightning at the Door may just be the start, and that’s perhaps most exciting of all.

5. Witch Mountain, Mobile of Angels

A beautiful, stunning work made even more powerful by the honesty driving it. Portland, Oregon’s Witch Mountain completed a trilogy with the Billy Anderson-produced Mobile of Angelsthat brought about some of the best doom of this young decade, their 2011 return from a years-long hiatus, South of Salem (review here) serving as the foundation for a stylistic progression that continued on the following year’s Cauldron of the Wild (review here) and onto Mobile of Angels itself as the four-piece’s most accomplished album to date. The reason it feels like such a concluding chapter is because of the departure of vocalist Uta Plotkin, whose voice helped establish Witch Mountain both on stage and in the studio, leaving founders Rob Wrong (guitar) and Nathan Carson (drums) with the sizable task of finding a replacement. That situation will be what it will be, but Mobile of Angels remains a gorgeous, lonely testament. Plotkin gives a landmark performance on “Can’t Settle” and “The Shape Truth Takes,” which in the context of what was happening in Witch Mountain at the time ring with a truth that’s rare in or out of doom, and she seems to have left the band just as they were hitting their finest hour. So it goes.

4. Conan, Blood Eagle

In all of heavy, there is no assault so severe as Conan‘s. With their second full-length and debut on Napalm Records, the UK trio solidified the two sides of the preceding 2012 outing, Monnos (review here), in constructing material that, fast or slow, short or long, retained an epic feel melded with their ungodly tonality and memorable songwriting. Their first recording at guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis‘ Skyhammer Studio, it affirmed Conan‘s will to conquer in its two massive bookends, “Crown of Talons” and “Altar of Grief,” and in the High on Fire-worthy gallop of “Foehammer” — a bludgeon commandingly wielded by Davis, bassist/vocalist Phil Coumbe and drummer Paul O’Neil, the latter to of whom have since left the band to be replaced by longtime-producer Chris Fielding and Rich Lewis, respectively. What effect the changes might have on the band — except apparently more touring, which isn’t a bad thing — have yet to be seen, but Conan are already in the process of writing a follow-up to Blood Eagle, so it doesn’t seem like it’ll be all that long until we find out. With Davis still steering the band in songwriting and overall direction, one severely doubts they’ll be fixing what obviously isn’t broken anytime soon. None heavier.

3. Wo Fat, The Conjuring

Dallas riff-rockers Wo Fat have grown steadily over the course of their five albums, from the nascent heavy roll of 2006’s The Gathering Dark, to the hooks of 2008’s Psychedelonaut (review here), the jamming that started to surface on 2011’s Noche del Chupacabra (review here) and was pushed further on 2012’s The Black Code (review here). And their approach has been as steady as the frequency of their releases. In making The Conjuring, the three-piece were simply engaging the next step in their progression, but the material on the five-track/48-minute outing goes further than just that. Putting aside (momentarily) the 17-minute closer “Dreamwalker,” the other cuts, “The Conjuring,” “Read the Omens,” “Pale Rider from the Ice” and “Beggar’s Bargain” each found a place for themselves in pulling together jammed-sounding elements with a memorable construction, and when guitarist/vocalist Kent Stump, bassist Tim Wilson and drummer Michael Walter did kick into “Dreamwalker,” they hit on not only their longest piece yet, but their most accomplished showcase of the chemistry that has developed between them. That song is a beast unto itself, but as has been the case with Wo Fat each time out so far in their career, there’s nothing on The Conjuring to give the impression the band can’t or won’t continue to keep going on the path that’s worked so well for them on this point. They’ve spent the last eight years on the right track and have yet to waiver. The Conjuring should be played at top volume for anyone who contends there’s no life left in heavy rock and roll.

2. Mars Red Sky, Stranded in Arcadia

Mars Red Sky‘s second LP and first for Listenable, Stranded in Arcadia was originally supposed to be recorded in the California desert, but visa problems kept the French trio of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras, bassist/vocalist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Matgaz in Brazil, where they’d previously been touring. Thus, “stranded in Arcadia,” which is basically another way of saying “lost in paradise.” Can’t say the Bordeaux three-piece didn’t make the most of it, though. Songs like “The Light Beyond” and “Hovering Satellites” — not to mention the utter melodic bliss of “Join the Race” — took cues from their 2011 self-titled debut (review here) in terms of memorable songwriting and melodic craft, but added to that heft and tonal richness more of a psychedelic vibe, so that not only was there fuzz and wah, but a spacious world in which the songs took place. With Kinast on lead vocals, the sneaky boogie of “Holy Mondays” became a highlight, and the one-two swing ‘n’ stomp of “Circles” and “Seen a Ghost” were a perfect demonstration by the band of the various sides of their sound, particularly following after the dreamy instrumental “Arcadia,” an echoing jam distinguished by Pras‘ wistful guitar lead and coming before the closing “Beyond the Light,” which reprises the opener’s resonant unfolding. It probably wasn’t the record they intended to make, but Stranded in Arcadia became one of my go-to albums for 2014, and like the best of any given year’s output, I’ve no doubt it will transcend the passage of time and continue to deliver for years to come. Hell, I was barely done with the debut when this one came out.

1. YOB, Clearing the Path to Ascend

Can’t imagine this is any great surprise. Not only did Clearing the Path to Ascend — YOB‘s seventh album and first for Neurot — produce my pick for song of the year in its sprawling, emotionally weighted 18-minute closer, “Marrow,” but in the three full-lengths the Eugene, Oregon, trio of drummer Travis Foster, bassist Aaron Rieseberg and guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt have released since the latter reformed the band after breaking it up following 2005’s The Unreal Never Lived, all three have been my album of the year. The Great Cessation was in 2009, and Atma was in 2011. Consistency aside, I’ll point out specifically that each of the same three records has earned that position, perhaps Clearing the Path to Ascend most of all for its progressive feel, moving past genre even at its most raging moment, second cut “Nothing to Win,” the chorus of which proved that among everything else YOB could be, they could be anthemic. The cosmic, spiritual questing that has always been present in their songs, that feeling of searching, showed up in opener “In Our Blood,” but even there, it was evident YOB were pushing themselves beyond what they’ve done before, rewriting their own formulas incorporating lessons from their past in among their other points of inspiration. “Unmask the Spectre” could have easily been an album closer itself, with its patient exploration and feverishly intense payoff, but with the melodic progressivism of “Marrow” and the soul poured into every second of that track, every verse and chorus, solo and build — including the Hammond added to the last of them by producer Billy Barnett — YOB created a landmark both for themselves and the increasing many working under their influence. I’ve said on several occasions (bordering on “many” at this point) that YOB are a once-in-a-generation band, and it feels truer in thinking of Clearing the Path to Ascend than it ever has. Without a doubt, album of the year and then some.

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Honorable Mention

First, special note to Colour Haze‘s To the Highest Gods We Know. I’ve decided to count it as a 2015 release since the vinyl will be out in Spring, but otherwise surely it would earn a place on this list. Blackwolfgoat‘s Drone Maintenance also deserves note.

Monster Magnet, Milking the Stars — I wasn’t sure what to do with this since technically it’s not a new album, mostly reworked songs from the last one. I still listened to it a ton though, whatever it is.

Slomatics, Estron — Another one I’m just getting to know, but am very much digging.

Electric Wizard, Time to Die — People seem to do this thing where Electric Wizard puts out a record, everyone slathers over it for a few months and then spends the next two years talking about how it sucked. I guess I’ll be on the ground floor with not having been that into Time to Die.

Pallbearer, Foundations of Burden — Had to put their name somewhere on this list or someone would burn my house down. Album of the year for many.

Before I check out and go sit in a corner somewhere to try and rebuild brain power after this massive dump of a purge, I want to sincerely thank you for reading. If you check in regularly, or if you’ve never been to the site before, if you don’t give a crap about lists or if you’re gonna go listen to even one band on here, it’s fantastic to me. Thank you so much for all the support this site receives, for your comments, for sharing links, retweeting, whatever it is. I am a real person — I’m sitting on my couch at this very moment — and being able to do this and have people see it and be a part of it with me is unbelievable. I realize how fortunate I am. So thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

More to come as we close out 2014. I’ll have a list of short/split/demo releases, a year-end podcast, a list of the best debuts, a round up of the best live shows I saw, as much more as time allows. Please stay tuned.

And again, thank you. If I left anyone off the list, I hope you’ll let me know in the comments and contribute your own top albums, however many there are, to the Readers Poll.